Cosmetics and Features

Deceptively Simple

Design

You can say that the LH50 seems more like a peacock who has lost its feathers after witnessing how flamboyant LG can get with their TVs. It's plain. The LH50's panel is framed by an unassuming black bezel and a clear plastic trim running along it, meaning this Korean effort might not stick out among the conventional ones. Depth-wise, it isn't the slimmest of recent flat-panels with its depth measurement of 90mm. Besides its swiveling gait, LG has incorporated a simple power-indicator in the guise of a crescent at the bottom right. The LED turns red during standby and blue when powered on.

One radical design of the LH50 is the placement of its side ports. They are nowhere near the sides in fact. With such deep indentations, LG is making it hard for anyone to access them, and even more so if you've wall-mounted the panel. Many manufacturers have incorporated at least a USB and HDMI port on their side bars and LG is no exception either, but LG seems to not understand the meaning of the side access ports. Given its awkward placement, we reckon many will face a thorny time trying to plug in their USB drives or when attempting to hook up cameras and consoles. This is a real letdown in terms of accessibility and usability and we hope to see this corrected soonest with LG's next effort.

On the bright side, one thing we like best about the LH50 is its remote stick. The remote was a joy to wield given its concisely labeled buttons. The whole plastic wand has a textured feel that is somewhat akin to synthetic leather, typical of LG but it sure gives a good grip. There's also a dedicated Simplink button. To add, Simplink is LG's HDMI CEC function which allows you to control other LG products via a single remote. It's old news anyhow, but it's still a practical feature to own especially if you have other LG devices lurking in your AV setup.

Features

LG has throttled their LCDs to the next level with the arrival of the LH50. They are now in the same playing field as the bigger boys who have already clinched their 200Hz accolades. There's Sony and their 200Hz Motion Flow enhancement as seen in the BRAVIA Z4500, while Samsung's answer can be found in the Series 7 suite braided with the 200Hz Motion Plus aspect. We'll discuss more of this when we check out the LH50's performance later.

Its menu settings have also been refurbished with a more pleasing layout, segregated into nine boxes each. The display tune-ups are located under its Picture segment. Additionally, we also found a total of nine color presets available, ranging from the customary Standard (or User) setting to the Intelligent Sensor mode. Speaking of which, the TV is also fitted with a sensor to determine your room's ambient lights. To shave power costs, it would automatically reduce the backlights' intensity should it detect a dimmer environment. Furthermore, the LH50 is equipped with a DVB-T tuner which eliminates the need for another HD set-top box.